Happy Halloween!

Halloween will be upon us in three more days, and since this one will be my last in this house, I thought it fitting to share a photo of these Jack o' Lanterns in my window. As an adult, my favorite part of Halloween is having all the little ghosts and goblins come to my door, shouting "trick or treat" as I offer up a big bowl of candy. One aspect of rural living is that you get absolutely NO trick or treaters. That doesn't stop me from filling up a big bowl with my favorite candy, though. But it does mean that I have to eat it all myself.

As a small child, my favorite aspect of Halloween was getting dressed up in my costume, and being allowed to wander the streets till all hours, unsupervised, unaccompanied by a legion of adults, as most children these days seem to be. Being one of the only non-white families in our town, I have one other Halloween memory that sticks in my mind: I saw Halloween as a day when I could easily blend right in, behind my mask, with all the other children, without eliciting extra stares or double-takes. A very refreshing experience that made my candy all the sweeter.

I'll soon be moving into town, living once again on a "regular" street, and look forward to Halloween 2013!